Sarah Wollaston MP

Dr Sarah Wollaston is Conservative MP for Totnes, Brixham and the South Ham. Follow Sarah on Twitter.

Better our slightly anarchic, two fingers to the establishment, out-of-control press than a controlled press. Statutory controls would be a more convenient option for celebrities and politicians but the public should be very wary. Phone hacking was illegal when it invaded the privacy of the Dowlers and remains illegal today and it is wrong for those who favour State controls to take shelter behind a claim to have their interests at heart. A vote to allow Parliament a toe in the door of press freedom carries a risk that is not worth taking. It also ignores the power of the Internet to render our printed news entirely irrelevant let alone bankrupt, should readers be bored by the resulting bland self censorship.

But the Prime Minister cannot have it both ways. Either we are in favour of freedom of speech or we are not and it is also time for the gagging orders at the heart of government to be removed by the one person with the power to make it happen.

To universal welcome, gagging orders have finally been banned in the NHS... with one notable exception. How can the following be justified within the 'job description' of the ministerial aide to the Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt?

'They should avoid associating themselves with recommendations critical of or embarrassing to the Government. They should also exercise discretion in any speeches or broadcasts outside the House'.

Dr Sarah Wollaston is Conservative MP for Totnes, Brixham and the South Ham. Follow Sarah on Twitter.

When
David Cameron delivers his long awaited EU speech on Friday it must be more
than just an exercise in managing expectations.

It is an opportunity to set out how both
sides could benefit from a more constructive partnership with our Eurozone
neighbours. He must also clarify how and why that relationship needs to change
for us to stay. Unless there is a clear intent to seek consent in a referendum,
it will of course be pointless to expect a genuine negotiation.

Eurosceptics
are used to being dismissed as ‘mad’, ‘swivel-eyed’, ‘right wing’ or ‘dangerously irresponsible’ by those who fear a public
vote on Europe, but it is time for the sneering to stop.

Like many
of my constituents I am centre right and perfectly capable of recognising the
benefits of the EU. We are tired of the stereotypes as are those from the left
who share a deep unease at the federalist quicksand. The refusal of
Eurosceptics to be dismissed out of hand means that those comfortable with the
status quo can no longer assume that sceptics will be safely
outmanoeuvred. Instead of applying
insulting labels to those who seek a reappraisal of our place in Europe they
should focus on how Europe could better serve all of its people.